What does it mean to be more like Jesus?

This raises a bunch of questions. First, what does it look like? And how do I get there?

Romans 8:29, “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

This is just one of the verses about being conformed to His image. We have all read these verses in our devotions and Bible stories. Verses that exhort us not to be conformed to the world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds and to strive to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us into the fruits of the Spirit; the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. (Galatians 5:22–23)

All of these things are only possible by the infilling of the Holy Spirit. It’s also not available to an unbeliever. They are spiritually dead.

2 Corinthians 5:17 is a favorite verse that reminds us that our lives are living miracles having been raised from spiritual death.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Since we are spiritually alive and filled with the Third Person of the Trinity, these facts about our identity should profoundly affect how we see ourselves and challenge us to begin a crusade to fit into that identity.

So what does that look like?

It looks like an all-or-nothing, life-or-death pursuit of His face. Because the first step is the most important, to conform to Jesus’s image, you must first recognize His voice and learn to love His lordship. To be like Jesus, you must seek that intimate relationship as your number one goal in life, even in life’s hectic pace.

When I came to faith in Jesus in my twenties, I was extremely excited with what I read in the Bible. The idea of being adopted into the Creator of all things’ family trumped every imagination I had dreamed of after a life of science fiction.

However, in the fourth quarter of life, sometimes I find it challenging to spend the amount of time I need. I have lots of excuses, and some of them are unavoidable. But I have lived a life of profound experiences surrounded by His Presence. My conversations with My King are continuous and faithful to never end.

Today, I had an image of the difference between my shadow and someone not of Christ. And yes, I did look up the verses about people lining the streets so that His shadow would fall on them and bring healing. There is no evidence that His shadow ever healed anyone. That was merely an example of faith on the part of the people of Jerusalem. But, my vision today was a picture of my shadow as a colorful tapestry. This led me to this blog post. Perhaps that vision was a glimpse of how different our lives will be when we find ourselves on the streets of Heaven. Or was it just another example of my redeemed imagination going into overdrive? Who knows?

I have seen multiple examples of healing, heard stories of miracles, and incidents of God showing off. There was a time when I asked why those kinds of things were so infrequent. After pondering a lot, I realized that most examples involved missionaries and some more aggressive revivalists. I wondered if Miracles, Signs, and Wonders were accompanied by risk-taking in the Kingdom. These people were on the front lines of the spiritual battle and frequently needed Jesus to intervene in a situation with no worldly answer.

Still, not long ago, I was able to pursue His face. I realized that the first thing Jesus did was pray to the Father. The Lord had been waking me up right around 3 AM. I had told Him that I wouldn’t complain about losing sleep. His methods for waking me up were very surprising at times. So, eventually, I began just setting my alarm to seek Him. Then things began to happen. Those were precious times, and I intend to continue.

What’s the point?

I have been learning to recognize His presence, His voice, His sense of humor, and His incredible Holiness. So the point is this: I am hanging onto my identity as a New Creation and a citizen of Heaven because I don’t want to hear Jesus deny knowing me.